Molecular prevalence of Mycoplasma parvum in production cycle of technified swine herds

Porcine hemoplasmosis is characterized as a geographically cosmopolitan disease caused by Mycoplasma suis and Mycoplasma parvum. Asymptomatic pigs are considered the focus of hemoplasmosis because they are carriers and reservoirs to new infections. This study aimed to determine the molecular occurrence of porcine hemoplasmas (PH) in the production cycle of technified farrow-to-finished swine herds. For this purpose, 20 swine herds were evaluated, where 501 whole blood samples were collected for qPCR and phylogenetic analyses for hemoplasmas. The epidemiological analysis was performed for the entire population and per the growth stage. The total prevalence for PH was 31.93% (161/501); 95% (19/20) of sampled herds were positive. The occurrence of PH by swine growth stages was nursery (30.47%), growing (31.29%), finishing (26.18%), and slaughter (40.25%). The quantification cycles (Cq) ranged from 3.18- 39.56 and the number of PH 16S rRNA copies per mu L of DNA ranged from 5,57 x10(-2) to 2.23 x10(10). Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of five selected samples showed 100% identity with M. parvum strain Indiana and two M. parvum sequences from Brazil/Goias. This is the first report on PH in technified herds in Southeastern Brazil by growth stages.

Automated summary

This study investigated the molecular occurrence of porcine hemoplasmas in technified swine herds in Southeastern Brazil and found that the overall prevalence of hemoplasmosis was 31.93%. The prevalence varied among different growth stages of the pigs.